OUR OPINION: Senate spectacle highlights challenges in reform effort

In little more than 30 minutes Tuesday, we saw the potential value of openness in state government and the barriers that stand in the way of it becoming more common.

Just days after newspapers across the state joined voter advocates in a united call for more transparency in the Legislature, an opportunity to do so presented itself in the Senate.

State Sen. James Eldridge had proposed a casino bill amendment that would prevent lawmakers from working for casino operators for five years after leaving office.

The Acton Democrat said he was trying assuage voters’ concerns – which have been fed by a series of legislators caught trying to use their public position for personal gain – that the potential for future casino jobs would influence legislators’ votes.

“This is an economic development bill for the people of the commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Eldridge said. “It should not be an economic development bill for legislators.”

It was a chance for a healthy and public discussion on ethics that unfortunately devolved into tantrums and tirades.

The amendment drew visible fury from other senators who lashed out at Eldridge, saying any proposal to put the cookie jar farther out of reach only solidifies the impression that legislators are prone to stealing cookies.

Building on the angry reaction of others in the room, fellow Democrat Gale Candara’s loud and visceral opposition to the amendment was taking on the tone of an uncontrolled rant when Senate President Therese Murray gaveled the session into recess and whisked her fellow Democrats behind closed doors to settle the matter privately.

The moment points to two substantial obstacles that threaten to derail the Legislature’s efforts to rebuild its reputation and regain public trust.

One is defensiveness at the suggestion there’s an ethics problem on Beacon Hill.

Rather than responding with derision to efforts to shore up the Legislature’s tattered reputation, legislators need to acknowledge the problem – regardless of whether they view it as isolated – and respect the various proposals on how to deal with it.

The other is the ingrained culture of secrecy.

When the Democrats emerged from their caucus after Tuesday’s spectacle, Murray immediately opened a vote on a weakened version of Eldridge’s amendment that reduced the wait time for casino jobs to one year. And it was passed without a public explanation for the change.

If we are to break through the walls that provide cover for the handful of legislators intent on skirting the law and that feed doubts that the problem is endemic, Murray and other leaders on Beacon Hill cannot draw the curtains at the first sign of conflict and emerge with an unexplained solution.

Residents of this state want and deserve respectful debate on the issues that affect their lives.

They also want and deserve to see it play out in public, not in secret.

The Senate is set to resume its debate on the casino bill Tuesday. We hope the tone is improved and that Murray allows us to see democracy in action.